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Metropole Hanoi Turns to D.C. for F&B

In July, the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi reached halfway around the world to the U.S. capital and the award-winning Sofitel Washington DC Lafayette Square for its new director of food and beverage, Vincent Gernigon.

Gernigon succeeds Thibault Souchon who joined the Metropole as food and beverage (f&b) manager in July 2010. And he joins Nguyen Manh-Cuong in the hotel’s restaurants and its kitchens. Nguyen was appointed assistant food and beverage manager in July.

In D.C., Gernigon led an f&b team that won renown as the top f&b and top restaurant team in the Sofitel’s North American portfolio. Personally, he achieved recognition as Manager of the Year.

While Gernigon’s primary focus in Washington was the hotel’s French fare, he’ll broaden his culinary responsibilities in Hanoi. The hotel’s restaurants include Spices Garden (Vietnamese), Angelina (Italian) and Le Beaulieu (French), which was hailed as one of the one of the ‘101 Best Hotel Restaurants Around the World’ in 2012 by TheDailyMeal.com (USA).

Prior to his work in Washington, Gernigon has held positions at Sofitel Thalassa Quiberon in France and at restaurants and bars in France and England. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, UK and his master’s degree at the Normandy Business School in Caen, France.

While Gernigon honed his skills in D.C., Nguyen was at the Hôtel Kyriad Paris, managing the hotel’s food and beverage operations from 2010 to 2013. Previously, he worked for five years in the Disneyland Resort Paris.

Nguyen took his bachelor’s degree at the Tietgen Business School in Denmark, and his master’s in business administration at CMH Paris.